


How The Whole House Got Detention

by beautifuldaydreams



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Secret Santa, decorating christmas tree, mistletoe gets involved, slight jily, slightly less slight wolfstar
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-21
Updated: 2015-12-21
Packaged: 2018-05-08 04:49:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5484041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beautifuldaydreams/pseuds/beautifuldaydreams
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas decorations got banned from Common Rooms in third year. The Marauders are not impressed. Of course, they had nothing to do with them getting banned. Nothing at all. For their final Christmas at Hogwarts, they decide to do something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How The Whole House Got Detention

**Author's Note:**

> This is my harrypottersecretsantas gift to tumblr user @oneringtoevolvequicker. It is also the first HP fic I've finished. Wow I'm bad at finishing stuff. Anyway, enjoy! Or not. Whatever :)

“Ouch, Prongs! I told you this was a bad idea!”

“Shut up, Moony, you’re such a…”

“Prongs, shut up!”

The rustling that had caused Lily to look around ceased. She was hidden in the alcove next to the boys’ stair case, so that they couldn't see her.  
Remus extricated from under the invisibility cloak with some difficulty, as it now had rather a hard time concealing all the Marauders, as after six years at Hogwarts they were no longer scrawny (apart from Peter) first years. Lily nearly fell out of the alcove in shock. She knew that the four boys were skilled pranksters, but this was how they did it? No wonder they were so hard to catch.

Remus surveyed the room.

"OK guys, we are going to do this properly. No, shut up, Padfoot, we are. Wormy, lookout. Portrait hole and both stairs. Prongs, mistletoe, no extra charms on it, or Lily will make you wear your balls as ear-rings, don't give me that, I know you. Padfoot, help me with the tree."

So that's what they're doing, it made sense to Lily now.

In third year, James Potter and Sirius Black had thought it an excellent idea to charm the Christmas decorations in the Gryffindor common room to explode colourful glitter every time a teacher walked in. After second year’s Great Christmas Pudding Incident, and first year’s Paper Chains of Doom, the teachers and prefects had (unanimously) decided that decorations in the individual house common rooms was too expensive (read: risky), and they had been banned ever since. But it was their last Christmas at Hogwarts, and of course they wanted to go out with a bang, hopefully not literally, but it was more than likely.

It looked like this idea might actually be a good one, not that anything Potter did was good. It did seem to be Remus who was masterminding it. She was allowed to be supportive of one of her best friends.

Lily, without getting out from behind the curtains, cleared her throat. The effect was incredible. James leapt at least three feet in the air. Peter leapt up from behind a chair shouting “it wa-” which was all he managed of “it wasn’t me” before he realised there was no one there. Sirius drew his wand and spun around so quickly he nearly poked Remus’ eye out. Remus swore loudly. Lily couldn’t help herself. She burst out laughing.

“Oh Merlin, Potter, your face!”

Three outraged shrieks of “Evans!” and one resigned sigh of “hello, Lily, yes you can help if you want, just don’t kill James.”

“Hmm, thanks for the offer, Remus, but if you don’t mind, I’d rather not get in detention for blowing up a Christmas tree or something”

“Who said anything about blowing stuff up, Evans” Sirius had finally managed to disentangle himself from the large fir tree in the corner, into which he had fallen after Remus swore (he would argue that it was because her was so surprised at “such filthy language from Mr. Perfect Prefect”, but everyone knew that it was because Remus swearing was a bit of a weakness of his). “We aren’t blowing anything up.”

“Well tell me what you are doing, and maybe I can help you.”

“Thanks, for the offer bu-”

“Shut up, Siri. Please help us Lils, it will be fun! We’re only decorating the Common Room, nothing painful, I promise.”

“Ok, ok, what do you want me to do?”

“Well, I have help with the tree, don’t I, Sirius. Sirius, no, I can hear you charming that bauble to explode, don’t even try it. Pete is on look out, so you could help him, or you can help James charm the mistletoe.”

There was a pause.

“Have you thought of charming the doorways to sing when people walk through them?”

“You genius.”

 

 

Christmas morning dawned, pale and clear, shedding snowy light over their handiwork.  
It had been an eventful night, and now the Marauders and Lily were collapsed on the squashy sofas in the Common Room, admiring the scene.  
The original plan had been simple, but effective. A glowing tree enchanted to send presents flying into the hands of the recipient the moment they came within a two metre radius. Mistletoe enchanted to float around the room. A star in the centre of the ceiling that acted as a warning if a teacher was approaching by flashing green, and was also filled with sweets that it threw outwards at random intervals.

However, Lily had earned the Marauders undying respect by adding a few of her own details. The doorways now sang Christmas carols whenever anyone walked through it, and she had even gone as far as to make it sing the person’s favourite. The mistletoe now not only floated around the room, but trapped people beneath it and refused to let them go until they kissed. Room-temperature snow fell from the ceiling, disappearing as it reached the ground. All in all, it had been a success thus far.

There were a few things that no one dared mention for fear of nasty hexes.

James and Lily had been the first casualty of the mistletoe, but, surprisingly to all occupants of the room, they were still on speaking terms.

Sirius and Remus has been the next to fall to the mistletoe, as they tried to get the angel on the tree at the right angle. (“Of course it’s not straight, Padfoot, you’re tipping your head to one side, you great tit” “Oh yes. Oops.”) They had disappeared for a while after that and had only appeared again looking very pleased with themselves and being unable to keep their hands off each other, much to Peter’s confusion. James shared a knowing glance with Lily. He was more perceptive than people gave him credit for.

Silence reigned, but the snow disappeared instead of melting, so no one got wet.

“IT WAS CHRISTMAS EVE, BABE”

A very sleepy and confused Fabian Prewett stood in the doorway to the boys’ dorms. He looked around, laughed and yelled up the stairs.

“Hey, guys! Come and look at this!”

By half past eight, the Common Room was filled with Gryffindors (and the odd Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Slytherin boyfriend or girlfriend that had stayed overnight with their partner, and now hovered sheepishly in the corners), everyone was laughing, shouting, singing and wishing each other “Merry Christmas!”.

Then the star began to glow.

The portrait hole opened.

“What on earth-” No one had ever seen Professor McGonagall actually lost for words.

Fortunately, Slughorn was able to come to her rescue.

“Very well done, whoever did this, it is very impressive, but I’m afraid we are going to have to take it all down. Rule are ru-” he stopped. He had tried to step into the room. He couldn’t move his feet.

“Ah, Minerva, I seem to be stuck. Could you-”

McGonagall tried to step forwards. Again, nothing.

The whole room was staring at something over their heads.

They looked up.

Never had the whole of one house ever been in detention for laughing at teachers before.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you and Merry Christmas! Come chat to me on Tumblr @a-single-dream-is, or on my side-blog for my writing @daydreams-beautiful :)
> 
> @oneringtoevolvequicker, I love your blog, and hope you have an amazing Christmas! xxx


End file.
